Barcelona’s internal politics make long-term success unachievable

 The opportunity to manage Barcelona is almost always too good to turn down. Indeed, the lure of sitting in the Nou Camp dugout – arguably the pinnacle of the managerial profession, is strong enough to seduce any prospective candidate – irrespective of how level-headed they may be.  

The reality is that these days, becoming the manager of this great club often means getting caught up in a well-documented vicious internal power struggle. As we’ve seen recently, there is no way of avoiding it with the incumbent regularly paying the price for an environment where coups are always being plotted and grudges are not forgotten.  

For Hansi Flick, Barcelona’s new manager, this is the world he is walking into. 

In the very unlikely event that the German was unaware of what was around the corner, outgoing manager Xavi told Flick that he could expect to ‘suffer’ over his tenure.  

Flick’s recent suffering  

The silver lining for Flick is that he is used to suffering after being fired as the German manager in 2023 having won only four out of his 17 games in charge. 

It was such a painful time leading the national team that the usually patient German Football Association changed tack just nine months before their home Euros. Doing so, however, has made the Germans one of the favourites to win EURO 2024 at 5/1 now that results have drastically improved under new manager Julian Nagelsmann. 

Back a new look Germany this summer 

Fans who feel that Germany can go all the way on home soil this summer can claim these Euro 2024 free bets. In some cases, bookmakers such as Betfred and Copybet are offering as much as £50 in free bets which can used on the outright winner market.  

Whether Die Mannschaft can win EURO 2024 remains to be seen, the wider point is that Flick is well-versed in the pain that football management can deliver which could serve him well over his time in Barcelona. 

As for Xavi’s parting comment, it was an ominous warning from a man who clearly felt hurt by the way he had been treated over the final months of his stint as manager.  

While Xavi might look back one day and wish that he had kept his counsel, his prediction will almost certainly come true; Flick is in for a culture shock in the extreme.  

Two sides to every story  

Of course, Barcelona’s president Joan Laporta would disagree and say that the blame for Xavi’s exit lay squarely at the manager’s door and wasn’t down to politics.  

In any dispute, there are, of course, always two sides to a story. 

To say that Xavi didn’t make mistakes during his time as Barcelona’s manager would be false, he did. In particular, there are lingering question marks over the intensity of the 44-year-old’s training sessions.  

There is a feeling in the boardroom that Xavi sees training through the eyes of a player and not a manager; which led to frequent days off and even concerns from his squad that they were inadequately prepared for games.  

This came to a head after losing to PSG in April when Xavi allowed his players to take Sunday off before the return leg in Paris on Wednesday ending in a 4-1 defeat. 

However, most of his charges decided they couldn’t afford the break and descended on the club’s Ciutat Esportiva training ground. 

Laporta might use these examples of letting standards slip to say that change was needed but Xavi’s methods did deliver a Spanish Supercup and La Liga title. 

Additionally, when Xavi said he would step down at the start of 2024, Laporta did everything in his power to change his mind – these are not the actions of a man with widespread concerns about unprofessionalism.  

Rather, it wasn’t giving his players freedom that led to his demise but his views on Barcelona not having the financial resources they had in times gone by. 

The cardinal sin  

Xavi said as much in the middle of May and by the 24th of the same month, the former player was reading press reports that Flick had agreed to become the next Catalan manager. No one had informed Xavi of the news. 

Essentially, Xavi’s public views about the precarious state of Barca’s finances – which is no secret – had mortally wounded Laporta who wants his legacy to be of a man who pulled magical financial levers and returned the club to times of abundance. 

The result of saying the contrary was less than a month after pleading with Xavi to stay, Barcelona’s president dropped the guillotine ruthlessly. It was not football-related but a matter of saving face.  

Some might say this was a long time coming as Xavi was the manager that Laporta’s rival for the presidency of Barcelona, Victor Font, based his election campaign on in 2021. 

Laporta might have appointed Xavi after winning the presidency but that was a move out of desperation after Ronald Koeman’s sudden dismissal only a few months into the 2021/2021 season; the 61-year-old had no one else to turn to and Xavi had been preparing for it in the event Font won.  

It was always going to be a complicated relationship given Xavi’s allegiance to Font. Again, the groundwork for inevitable fallout had been dug thanks to Barcelona’s complicated internal structures.   

An impossible task  

Flick will be the latest manager to try and appease all sides, keep the peace, and win trophies during his time at the Nou Camp. Xavi proved it possible to do all three but not indefinitely, sooner or later, a power grab will see Barca burn it down and start again.